Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation, particularly when firefighting efforts require entrance into a burning building or other enclosed structure. In addition to the flames and attendant heat, the large quantities of unvented smoke can quickly reduce visibility to inches. Under such conditions it is easy for firefighters to become disoriented. The fire hose serves as a critical lifeline for firefighters, both for its ability to combat the fire and as a guide to help firefighters reliably find their way to the fire or to safety.
Under real fire conditions, firefighters can lose hold of the fire hose, either by accident or to accomplish some other mission. To find the fire hose again in the smoke and confusion of a fire, it is often necessary for firefighters to crawl on the floor and seek out the hose with their hands. Once regained, it can be difficult, if not impossible, for the firefighter to determine which direction to follow the hose to safety outside the building, or else to the nozzle, if necessary. This difficulty is greatly increased where multiple hoses are employed and firefighters often encounter a tangled mess of hoses. Unfortunately, several tragedies have resulted when firefighters have needed to leave a building but could not, in the stress and confusion of a fire, successfully follow a hose to safety.
One example of an attempt to facilitate a firefighter's ability to follow a fire hose to safety can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/00663512. In the '512 publication, a collar with tactile directional indicating shapes is fitted into hose couplings. With the heavy gloves that firefighters must typically don for safety, properly identifying tactile indicators is difficult. In one embodiment, reflective or luminescent coatings are applied on outer surfaces of the collar. However, to be effective, reflective coatings require that a firefighter have an operable flashlight, and, in conditions of extremely reduced visibility, as are common in building fires, luminescent coatings can have very limited usefulness. Moreover, many luminescent coatings require prior exposure to light for activation. Under many conditions, for instance during nighttime firefighting, adequate prior exposure may not be feasible.
Another example of an attempt to facilitate a firefighter's ability to follow a fire hose to safety can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,750. In the '750 patent, a light emitting element is provided along the exterior surface of a fire hose. The various light emitting elements of the '750 patent extend along the entire length of the hose, in the form of a strip or string woven into, or otherwise affixed to, the exterior surface. The incorporation of such strips or strings of light emitting elements requires either a specially fabricated hose, or substantial modification to the entire length of an existing hose. Subsequently, the costs of implementing the '750 patent can be prohibitively high, particularly for a fire department with a limited budget. Moreover, these costs can be expected to recur each time a hose must be replaced.